Garuda
Garuda (stylized as GARUDA) is a Metal Attacker first appearing in Blaster Master Zero 2. Its designation is NORA MA-07, piloted by Leibniz and (was) supported by Lucia. Design Compared to most MAs which act like agile tanks, Garuda's lack of wheels or treads implies that it is a flight-only unit designed for aerospace combat. Story Pre-game Garuda was once piloted by Leibniz to protect his planet in Area G. But then mutants overran his home, corrupting it into Planade-G, and he lost his support droid in battle. Since then, Leibniz and Garuda have wandered the cosmos, attacking anyone and anything they find without the support droid to keep the pilot stable. Blaster Master Zero 2 Garuda is first met upon entering Area D, where it blindsides Gaia-SOPHIA and forces a landing on a nearby (non-map) planetoid. While escaping is as simple as running away from the fight and launching from the save point, this allows Garuda to continue its random harassment until you finally defeat it. Upon victory, Eve will hack Garuda's OS and retrieve the data for Area G's first planetoid. Garuda is encountered again in Area G's Planetoid G-1, this time employing additional attacks to defeat G-Sophia. Upon being defeated again, Garuda will retreat to Planetoid G-3, where it supports its pilot via remote aerial bombardment. Garuda is encountered again in Area Omega, ready to render a (relatively) helpless Eve to scrap. Her impending destruction is interrupted by the appearance of Elfie and Andreia. Shaken by the reveal that Elfie is a "spirit" (ostensibly confirming the existence of souls and that support droids have them), Leibniz flies away in Garuda after revealing the purpose of the Emblems. In the True Ending's epilogue, Leibniz and Garuda are shown answering Earth's distress call, with Leibniz wondering if him being the hero this time will "drive [Jason] crazy." Abilities Inti Creates' official site describes Garuda as "a high-spec Metal Attacker capable of faster-than-light travel." Fight 1 (Area D) In battle, Garuda often employs hit-and-run tactics, with its flight pattern in the background acting as a warning for what attacks it will use: *A plateau-shaped pattern means Garuda will fly in and hover in diagonal attack range before launching two waves of three-way shots. Any deployed bits (see below) will support this attack by launching their own bullets at the player. *Flying almost close to ground level means Garuda will charge along the foreground using its mass to deal damage (though it does not employ a special ability like Spark Tackle, so Burning Spark can easily dodge it while damaging Garuda in turn). If the player chooses to use Repulsion Upper during this attack, Garuda will be bounced upwards, triggering a harder variant of this move in Fight 2. *When flying straight across the top, Garuda will strafe a barrage of lasers that curve around to target G-Sophia. *When flying diagonally, Garuda will leave a series of bits that soon deploy shields, damaging on contact and deflecting any attacks that hit them similar to the Vector Reflector Blast Counter. The bits may be pushed around with gunfire while not active, or at any time using Burn Spark, but will generally persist until their eventual auto-destruction 3-4 attack cycles later. Fight 2 (Area G) Garuda's pattern is overall the same as before, but with extras added to certain attacks, such as two volleys of lasers instead of one. Garuda will also deploy its own shield as it drops to reduce vulnerability windows. Upon executing its three-way pattern, any of Garuda's surviving bits will use a weapon similar to Thunder Break, sending two spark balls along the ground. Garuda is difficult, but those with a plethora of sub-weapons can easily counter its attacks, if they manage their SP properly. Floating rocks across the battlefield can act as platforms to jump off and trigger the Gaia System. They crumble after a few seconds, but more will always fly in. External Links Garuda lore on Inti Creates EN Twitter Category:Blaster Master Zero 2 Category:Bosses Category:Metal Attackers